I did about 2 hours of SUPing in the ocean today and when I got out I had a soggy right sock. Soggy is a way over exaggeration but the toe area was wet and I could wring some water out. The suit is a Kokatat gortex. I checked the inside of the sock noting nothing out of the ordinary. When I yak in this suit I had never noted a leak but I had had to swim just wet launch and recovery when paddling. I was going to try to find the leak by turning inside out and pressuring with air then use soapy water to find the leak. No sure this will work because the leak is appearantly more like a seep. If I do find the leak what do I seal it with? I was thinking of smearing some Aquaseal on it. Thanks for the help
Is it Goretex?
Best to send it in to Kokatat if it is. Booties are a pretty vulnerable leak point.
Best to fix it with Goretex tape if you want to try it yourself, but the challenge is finding the tape and working well with it. I’ve tried and can’t recommend it as the easiest thing to manage yourself.
Simple leak
I would do what you propose.
Fill it with water, find the leak and Aquaseal it.
If you dust it with powder first, the leak will be easier to see as the water breaks into the powder.
Dry suit and surfing
If you surf in winter in heavy surf, coming on and off your board, expect to rip your dry suit, it will happen. There is a reason surfers don’t use drysuits.
A pinhole or a rip?
– Last Updated: Feb-18-14 11:48 AM EST –
I had ripped my dry suit for about an inch, outer layer only, on the upper arm. I just patched it up myself with some repair fabric and aquaseal. It is holding up fine through its second winter now. REI and paddling stores sell the repair kits for just a few bucks. I think I used some material for tents or inflatable sleeping pads repair, which is basically nylon or similar waterproof material fabric patch. No need to bother sending it for repair and be without it for weeks. The repair fabric for your foot (and for most any small patch anywhere) does not have to be top end Goretex - it's just a spot repair in an area that is not breathing anyway...
If it is a seam coming undone or issues with the fabric itself being leaky, then it could be a sign for more trouble coming along and a warranty repair might be a good thing to think about. Once you figure that out, call Kokatat to see what they suggest you do. My own preference is to always get the problem fixed the fastest and cheapest way and if that means doing it myself, so be it, even if it is a warranty issue.
Don’t Aquaseal the leak
Whatever you do, don’t aquaseal a leak or seal a seam. Once you do that, Kokatat can no longer review the material for delamination and therefore it would not be replaced under warranty if what happened was delamination under your aquaseal.
If you want to patch a HOLE from damage you did, go for it. Although, Kokatat doesn’t charge much for repairs and I find it best to send it in and they water test the whole suit after the repair.
Call Kokatat’s 800 number, get an RA and send the suit in for repair.
Check with your local rep and they might have a suit they can lend you while yours is out.
Suz
drysuit repair
thanks to all for the advice. Wasn’t planning. On using the suit much for surfing , just had the fever and the conditions were really nice. Didn’t note any delam or tape issues on visual inspection inside the bootie. I like the power idea for fixing the leak , will try it. I don’t even notice the leak on a regular yak adventure. I might limp along until the water warms a bit then send it off to Kokatat .thanks